Durojaiye Ogunsanya, a public affairs analyst, says he was a classmate of President Bola Tinubu at the Chicago State University (CSU).
During a chat with TVC on Monday, Ogunsanya said he graduated alongside Tinubu at CSU from the department of accounting and business administration in 1979.
CONTROVERSY OVER ACADEMIC RECORDS
Over the past few months, the academic records of Tinubu have been the subject of controversy.
Opposition political parties continue to raise questions over the authenticity of the university certificate presented by the president before the 2023 elections.
Tinubu’s academic records show that he graduated from CSU in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, accounting, and management.
However, there are allegations that the Tinubu who attended CSU is different from the current president of Nigeria.
Amid the controversy, Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in a suit filed before the US district court, asked the court to subpoena CSU over Tinubu’s academic files.
‘WE MOCKED HIS ACCENT’
During the interview, Ogunsanya was asked what he was thinking when he heard about the controversy over Tinubu’s academic records.
“We were in the same department, class, and college,” he said.
“We met in school at Chicago State University (CSU) and we were in the same department — college of accounting, business administration — with a major in accounting.
“We graduated together. He did attend the Chicago State University and he graduated in 1979 as I did. I’m here to testify that he did attend the university and he was a good student.
“People were being mischievous in the first place because he was a governor for eight years, he worked for Mobil for several years and you are contesting that he did not go to university. How is that possible?
“I can’t imagine how that is possible. Sometimes, the president might be embellished but that does not mean he did not attend university.”
Speaking further, Ogunsanya said Tinubu was elected as the president of the accounting student club at CSU between 1978/1979.
He added that colleagues often mocked Tinubu for his “deep” Nigerian accent in the US.
“We were members of the accounting club in the school. When the time for the election came, the president surprised me,” he said.
“There was a time he became the president of the club. Go and check it out. We were even laughing at him with his accent.
“He had a Nigerian accent and because of that we were laughing at him.”
He added that Tinubu was a sociable and ambitious person during his days at the CSU.